theatre's contribution to society

Did you know all the credit goes to William Shakespeare?

View this: https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=plcp&v=W-u_3Kg65JM

Let’s give credit to William Shakespeare, shall we?

This is what I am all about–good material which reaches everyone at some level. When I see people of different cultures, ages and socio-economic background all attending a production, my heart swells with pride.

What is fascinating about theatre, and not everyone understands this, is the simpler the performance the more complicated it is. In that, we strive to make the pretend seem real. It is in the here and now when it is performed–it is fleeting and now gone.

The audience member thinks, “Was what I saw my imagination making it real to me? Or did it actually happen?” The emotions shared with us by the actors are raw and less guarded even when they are subtle.

Recently, I had the opportunity to see Next to Normal produced by the University of Kansas theatre department. I am familiar with the show as I attended another performance at Denver at the Performing Arts Center with the original lead actress. If you haven’t seen the show, you must.

Next to Normal tells a story about a family whose son dies and their coming to grips with the loss of him. The mother is bi-polar and her emotional stability is in constant flux because of it. Both parents see the spirit of the son and talk to him, but they never see at the same time. What makes this musical so intriguing is the juxtaposition of the mother’s emotional withdrawl and ultimate breakdown coupled with the family’s grief at the loss of their son. It’s a riveting piece and I can relate to it, although I can’t quite explain why.

Did you know all the credit goes to William Shakespeare?

This makes some people uncomfortable which is part of the experience. We must allow ourselves to suspend our disbelief in order to understand the play’s message. Simulataneously we feel what they feel and for some people this is scary, but it is the thrust of theatre.

So to William Shakespeare it is easy to give him all the credit and I say thanks!

Playwright Tony Kushner explains it best.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=C87fblpBGmA

I saw a great movie recently, All is Love. It focuses on the last few years of Shakespeare’s life, his family, his love for them and especially for his wife. I thought it was pretty clever how they wove the information of Shakespeare’s accomplishments (the Globe theater, the many plays he wrote, etc.) into it. If you have a chance, see it. Kenneth Branaugh portrays Shakespeare and wow, you can hardly tell it is him.

Check him out here:

Amazing, huh?

William Shakespeare Sonnet

Do you have a favorite sonnet? Did you know Shakespeare never intended to publish them, but someone got their hands on them and did so without his permission? I had no idea. Here is one of my favorites:

Sonnet #18

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature’s changing course untrimm’d;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st,
Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st;
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Fabulous.

It’s a beautiful day today here in Kansas. We’ve had a lot of rain this spring. Everything is so green and alive. I think summer is going to be beautiful too, because of it. So, think of Shakespeare when you read this sonnet. I bet he envisioned a day like today when he wrote this sonnet..

If you’d like to read other posts of mine about Shakespeare, check them out here: What is Shakespeare in the Park and Why Should I Like It?

or If You Teach Shakespeare You will Want to Check out this Book

or Shakespeare’s Language and Bomb Diggity

I have a Teacherspayteachers.com store where I sell drama education lessons and units. Check it out at: Dramamommaspeaks Store